


There's a Hole in my Soul

by felicityollies



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Mob, Bodyguard, Bratva Oliver Queen, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Russian Mafia, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-16 12:02:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5827837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felicityollies/pseuds/felicityollies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity Smoak is the daughter of a powerful and dangerous mob boss. Oliver Queen, who had been an associate until recently being promoted to bodyguard, was given the job of protecting Felicity. Neither of them are very happy about the arrangement.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

  


Oliver didn’t know if this was a good idea, but when the head of the Russian mob asks you to do something you don’t really have a choice.

He was a simple Shestyorka, an associate or errand boy, so getting called into the boss’ office was a little out of the ordinary. It became even more strange when he was taken to a large building. No signs. No windows. It was unusually frightening for someone who didn’t get freaked out by much. He knew it wasn’t the headquarters or base of operations; he had been there before. Only for a few minutes at a time to get his next job, but he knew the seemingly abandoned warehouse well. This place, though, was new to him.

He had met the head of the Bratva previously; the day he was inducted into the organization. Since then he had attempted to stay under the radar. There was no need to bring extra attention to himself. Apparently he had failed.

_“I’ve had my eye on you,” the boss’ voice was cold and calculating. “You do good work and I’m in need of someone like you.”_

_“For what?” Oliver asked confused._

_“A special job,” he continued, “It’s a promotion of sorts. I want you to be a bodyguard. It’ll give you a chance to prove yourself as a member.”_

_“Don’t you have your own…”_

_“Of course, but you see I’m in need of someone new. Someone who I know isn’t going to betray me,” he spoke as if he knew Oliver well and it had unnerved him._

_“Oh… but how do you know that I’m the man for you?”_

_“Like I said, Mr. Queen, I’ve had my eye on you.”_

The offer was to become a Byki or a bodyguard for a specific person and move up in the ranks of the brotherhood; oh and get paid. It would have been tempting even without the underlying threat of being disposed of if he didn’t take it. But it was a lot of commitment and that part terrified him. He also didn’t want to put a damper on the way he lived his life.

But a job is a job, right?

Either way, he was now standing outside waiting to meet his client. He crossed his arms causing his leather jacket to squeak. The front door opened a couple of times, but no one he was looking for. He was waiting for a woman, but not just any woman. No, he was waiting for the boss’ daughter. He had never met her. Actually, he didn’t know anyone in the lower ranks that had. The boss seemed to like to keep his private life and work life separate. He didn’t spend time talking about his wife or daughter, so the only thing he knew about her was her name and that she was young. The fact that he trusted Oliver with this job made him nervous, but he planned on doing everything in his power to protect his daughter; even if he wasn’t happy about what felt like babysitting.

The door opened again and a petite woman stepped out. He raised a brow as he met her gaze. She was beautiful. Her blonde hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. Dual colored glasses sat on the bridge of her nose. She had bright blue eyes, but there was a coldness there. His eyes dragged over her and took everything in. She was small, but she had long very attractive legs. The short skirt she was in highlighted them perfectly. A tight pink blouse covered her torso; all the buttons were closed all the way up to her neck. Not that he was going to try to look at her chest.

“You must be Oliver,” she spoke in a tone that was none too pleased.

He snapped his head back up, “I am,” he stepped forward and extended a hand to shake hers. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Smoak.”

“It’s Felicity,” she gripped onto his hand with a strength that he wasn’t expecting. It didn’t hurt, but there was definitely some force behind it.

“You don’t want me to be here,” he said, pulling his hand back.

“You’re observant,” she muttered in sarcastic annoyance.

Oliver pressed his lips together. He had never been a bodyguard before, but he was pretty sure talking back was not in the job description.

Felicity rolled her eyes and started down the sidewalk. He quickly followed behind her. He wasn’t really sure what to think of Felicity just yet. She was gorgeous, spunky, but she didn’t seem like much of a people person. At least not with him. Fine. It wasn’t like pleasantries were required when protecting someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this idea in my head for awhile now. I really wanted to explore bratva!olicity in a different way and this is what came of that. I'm not sure how fast updates are going to come, but I'll try my best. With each update, though, the rating and warnings might change, so be wary.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is only a lil longer than the prologue. I know it’s kind of got a slow start, but i promise it won’t be like that for long.

Felicity glanced back behind her to look at Oliver. She narrowed her eyes for a moment before forcing her gaze forward again.

“I already had a long day at school and now this,” she muttered under her breath.

Oliver stayed quiet.

She continued to speak, but it wasn’t apparent whether she was actually talking to him or herself. “I’m going to graduate soon for Pete’s sake. I can handle college. I can handle anything. I don’t need anyone babysitting me. As much as my father seems to think I’m a child I am not. I’m a grown woman. Twenty-one-freaking years old,” she let out a slow breath as she came to stop in the middle of the sidewalk.

She didn’t see, but Oliver was quick to stop so that he didn’t run into her.

Turning on her heel, she looked up at him. She tried to calm herself, but stressed Felicity is an angry Felicity. “Listen, I don’t want to be a jerk,” she was acutely aware of how impolite she was being. “Midterm finals, father breathing down my neck, and now this situation added to that. Hence my stress levels being through the roof,” she gestured wildly while she spoke.

Oliver blinked at her, “Okay?”

She gave a frustrated sigh before turning around and continuing forward. “I’m taking you home,” she added a few moments later. After a few more steps she came to another abrupt stop. “Unless you needed to pick something up?”

She turned her head to look at him again with a brow raised.

“No,” Oliver rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

There were a few seconds of silence between them. Felicity felt like the awkward tension in the air was suffocating, so she filled it with idle chatter.

“I bet your girlfriend loves that you have to spend so much time with another woman.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” he rolled his eyes.

“Oh,” she glanced back at him again; her eyes dragged over him. “Boyfriend?”

“I’m not dating anyone,” he huffed.

A small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips, “Alright.”

She led him towards her apartment building.

“I don’t know if my father told you, but you’ll be working with someone else. Not technically working with because you’ll be taking turns with me,” she cringed as the words left her lips. “Taking turns watching me.”

Oliver stared as she struggled.

“God, that didn’t sound right either,” she tried to continue. “I mean you are not the only person with the job of bodyguarding,” she spoke slowly, so that the words didn’t tumble out wrong again.

_Brilliant Felicity, you are utterly brilliant._

“He did tell me,” Oliver said.

Felicity opened up the front door of the apartment building. “Good, but you could have said that instead of letting me continue to look like an idiot.”

“Didn’t want to interrupt you,” Oliver said.

His voice was even, but Felicity had a feeling he was laughing on the inside.

“Right,” she muttered.

Inside her apartment was small. Nothing fancy, but it didn’t matter to her. She had everything she needed to live alone. Her furniture had a minimalist feel, but it wasn’t cold like a lot of modern homes were. There was art on the walls that Felicity picked out herself. She also had a few items of clothing and various belongings that she had yet to put away.

“Make yourself cozy,” she said still sounding annoyed as she tossed her keys into a bowl by the door.

Oliver nodded, but didn’t say anything. His held onto his wrist behind his back and moved forward through the apartment. Felicity could tell that he was taking everything in and memorizing all the potential access points. She had seen many bodyguards do this before.

“You’re going to do the whole stoic, quiet, and I don’t speak until spoken too thing, from now on aren’t you?” she asked kicking off her shoes.

Oliver’s eyes flicked back towards her, “I wouldn’t say stoic.”

She rolled her eyes at him, “This is going to be just fantastic,” she couldn’t have been more sarcastic if she tried.

Walking past him, she entered her bedroom. It was messier in there than it was in the living room. It didn’t matter because no one but her ever saw it. She picked up her computer from her desk with a sigh.

“Stop being so rude, Felicity,” she mumbled to herself. “Daddy wouldn’t approve,” she paused, “No one would approve of me talking to myself either, but that’s not the point right now.” She closed her eyes and shook her head.

Taking in a deep breath and letting out slowly, she exited the room. She plopped down on the sofa and opened up the laptop. Her eyes moved up to Oliver. He was still scanning her apartment. She shook her head again.

She wasn’t sure what she thought about him. He was handsome, sure, but was there something inside that pretty head? She doubted she would learn much from him. The amount of talking he had done had only come because she pressed him for it.

She let out a soft sigh and idly wondered how many more times she was going to sigh that night. “I have homework to do, so please don’t bother me,” she was more polite this time, but it was very forced.

“Alright, Ms. Smoak,” he responded in the same even tone.

“It’s Felicity.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to say I'm a little surprised by the feedback. Surprised in a good way because I wasn't sure how well this was going to go. I'm very happy and appreciative of it, though! Any kind of feedback is great to be honest. I love seeing all of your thoughts ♥


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i did this one in a little bit different of a style, but I think it turned out well? I usually write a lot more, but idk I keep giving you guys small chapter updates. Oh well...

He didn’t know how he got roped into this. Maybe it was that he was bored. Maybe it was nearing the end of his shift and it was quiet as hell. Maybe the girl in front of him, who happened to be beating the pants off of him at Gin Rummy, was very persuasive. At least it wasn’t a game that required him to talk to her. Still, he was a twenty-six, almost twenty-seven, year old playing a silly card game and losing.

He had been working for her for about a week now and he still didn’t plan on being friendly. She had tried to goad him into conversations, but he didn’t know why. She seemed just as annoyed by him as he was about the situation.

“I win again,” Felicity said with that all too smug grin on her face.

Oliver sighed and pushed his cards towards her. He slid out of the chair and stood up, stretching a bit. His eyes moved over her, watching her put the cards away for just a second before a knock at the door stole his attention. He automatically assumed it was Diggle coming to trade places with him. When he opened the door, however, he realized that he had been seriously mistaken.

“Mr. Darhk,” he straightened up and opened the door the rest of the way.

He definitely did not expect to see his boss. Oliver watched him step inside before closing the door and moving his hands behind his back. He clasped his hand around his wrist and kept his eyes lowered just slightly. But he could still see what was transpiring at the kitchen table and it was kind of weird. He had never seen her act like this before.

* * *

Felicity quickly tucked the cards away and stood up from the table when she saw her father. She straightened her own posture and interlaced her fingers in front of her.

“Hi, daddy,” he smiled sweetly to him.

“Good afternoon, princess,” he put his hands on her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead, “Are things going well?” he looked from Felicity to Oliver.

“Very well.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want a repeat of last time,” he had a very no-nonsense tone.

She shook her head, “No, I wouldn’t either.”

“That is what I like to hear,” Damien nodded.

She swallowed, but kept the smile on her face.

He glanced around the room for a quick moment. It made her kind of nervous and he immediately picked up on it.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Her smile faltered. “Nothing.”

“Are you lying to me?”

“I’m not a liar,” Felicity tried to keep her voice steady and at a normal volume, but failed.

“Mind your tone.” Damien said sternly.

“I’m sorry,” she added quickly.

“Now, why are you nervous?”

“I haven’t cleaned up yet,” she let out a shaky breath.

“I noticed. You know the rules.”

She nodded. “I’ll clean up soon. I promise.”

“Good,” her father smiled, “I have business to attend to, so I must leave. Remember the rules and remember to mind your manners, Felicity.”

She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

With that he turned and left the apartment. As soon as the door was shut she let out a long breath.

“Woah,” Oliver muttered, “What was that?”

“Nothing. Please just don’t,” she sighed and shook her head.

“Really?” he walked towards her.

“So, now you want to talk? After my father embarrassed me and made me feel like I’m the size of ant-man?” she sucked in a deep breath. The need to be polite was gnawing at her again. “I’m sorry, but I’m not talking about this.”

He blinked at her, but nodded after a few seconds.

“Thank you,” she turned towards the living room and started to clean up her mess.

* * *

Oliver watched her and shook his head. He should be glad that she didn’t want to talk. It was really none of his business. He was there to guard her, not from her father, but from her father’s enemies. He thought it was weird that she became so polite. Other than her usual teasing and goading she was a polite person. She apologized for things when she didn’t need to and did try to be nice, but that was something entirely different.

He was going to keep to himself, though. There wasn’t a need for him to pry if she didn’t want to talk, or wouldn’t talk. Even asking was toeing the line of being friendly. She was not his friend; she was his boss and the person he was protecting, that was all.

Felicity turned suddenly and looked towards him, “Can you please stop staring at me like I’ve grown a second head?”

“I wasn’t staring,” he muttered quietly.

“Sure,” she sighed, “I know it was weird you don’t have to tell me or look at me that way. So please.”

He kept his mouth shut and dropped his gaze. A few minutes ticked by, but he didn’t have to wait around suffocating in the awkward tension for much longer because there was another knock at the door. He prayed to whatever god was up there that it was John this time. Thankfully, it was. He let the other man inside before stepping out into the hallway.

“See you tomorrow,” Diggle said.

“Yeah… uh watch out, though,” he started to say, “She’s in a mood… something with her dad.”

Diggle gave a knowing look, “Ah, thanks.”

He left without another word. All he wanted was to get out of there and get home to his crappy apartment, away from all the weirdness. He didn’t regret joining the Bratva, but he was a bit put off by what just happened. As if he wasn’t put off by the merciless killing. He liked belonging somewhere and having the brotherhood to support him. It was like a very dysfunctional family.

He gave one last glance to the closed door and wondered what really went on with Felicity and Damien. There was more to it, but it still wasn’t any of his business. He shook his head and started towards the street. God, he really did need to get home and rest because it was going to be a long day tomorrow; he could feel it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Finals for my current class are coming up so I'm probably not going to be working on this as much. I want to give you guys good stuff and not super rushed chapters. Definitely more likely to work on little oneshots instead because those don't take as much time. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this update and I'll try to get chapter three up as soon as I can, but I'm really not sure when that's going to happen.
> 
> Thank you for your patience _and_ thank you for reading ♥


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took me longer than expected, but here we go....

“Why the long face?”

“The usual,” Felicity said, dipping a french fry into her milkshake, “My life sucks,” her eyes moved up to meet Roy’s.

“That bad?” he stole one of her fries and popped into his mouth.

Felicity scowled at him for a moment, “Only always.”

“What happened this time? The new babysitter?” he asked, but his gaze shifted towards Diggle who sat at a table behind them, “No offense.”

John shrugged, but didn’t argue.

“Sort of. He’s still giving me the cold shoulder, but whatever,” she sighed “Dad showed up at my apartment again. I hate when he does that.”

“Your dad gives me the creeps,” Roy said shaking his head.

“You always say that.”

“Because it’s always true.”

“Anyway,” she rolled her eyes and sighed, “You don’t have to see him as much as I do.”

He nodded and stole another fry.

Felicity pulled the plate closer to her, “But none of this is really important.”

She didn’t talk about this kind of thing very often. Roy knew some of the things that went on in her household growing up, but definitely not everything.

“If you say so,” Roy reached over again, but this time she slapped his hand.

“If you would just ask,” she muttered.

He whined and rubbed the top of his hand. “That wasn’t very polite of you,” she gave him a look. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“Go get your own if you’re not going to be nice.”

“Nah, I’m gonna head to your place. I have to make a stop by the store beforehand, so I’ll just meet you there.”

“Alright.”

Roy snatched three fries off her plate and bolted towards the door.

“Rude,” Felicity mumbled.

Diggle moved to sit where Roy had been and crossed his arms.

“I know we have to leave soon; it’s almost time for Oliver’s shift,” he nodded at her words.

She ate a few more fries and put the lid back on her milkshake. “Let’s go.”

They walked in silence back to her apartment. She moved slowly not really wanting to get there; she would rather take her time that day. When they did get to her door they were met with a scene that Felicity never thought she would see. Oliver had a gun out pointed at her best friend. Roy was her only friend actually.

“What is going on?”

“I found him lurking outside,” Oliver spoke narrowing his eyes at Roy.

“I told you I wasn’t lurking. I’m Felicity’s friend!”

“He is my friend. Can we please not shoot him?”

Oliver slowly backed down and put his gun back in its holster. “Sorry,” he muttered quietly.

“Thank you.” she said with a sigh.

Roy leaned down and picked up a bottle of Mountain Dew he had dropped. “Yeah, thanks.”

Diggle shook his head at all three of them. “I’ll see you later, Felicity,” he said before turning to leave.

She pulled out her keys and unlocked the door, letting everyone inside first.

“He’s scarier than the last one,” Roy said plopping down on her couch.

“Only because that one didn’t try to shoot you,” she smiled just a little.

Her eyes moved towards Oliver. He double checked to make sure the door was locked and walked to stand in his usual spot. He crossed his arms giving his signature serious scowl. She wondered if he was always like this or if it was just reserved for her.

“Wait a minute,” she said, sitting down beside him on the couch. “Did you even bring your work with you?”

Roy gave her a guilty expression. “No?”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“You don’t always have to force me to study when we’re together,” he huffed.

“If you fail before graduation it isn’t my fault,” she crossed her arms.

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.” He reached for her remote and turned on the television.

She rolled her eyes, but didn’t press the subject further; she was not in the mood to argue with anyone that day.

* * *

For a little over two hours they talked and watched crappy television. Roy had to leave because he had a part time job to get to. She walked him to the door and gave him a tight hug. Her demeanor changed as soon as she closed the door and locked it back up. She cleaned up the living room letting out the longest sigh as she threw away the Mountain Dew bottle and empty milkshake cup.

Felicity was tired and kind of sad, but she didn’t want Roy to see that. She already slipped up earlier that day and didn’t want to do it again. She didn’t like forcing her problems on other people. Her issues were never as important. At least in her opinion. It didn’t matter if Oliver saw her feeling blue. He wasn’t going to ask.

“What’s wrong?” Well, that hope was short lived.

She looked towards him, “Nothing,” she sighed. “Didn’t we have this conversation yesterday?”

“No because you shut me down.” Oliver sounded annoyed.

“Seriously? You haven’t wanted to have a single conversation with me the entire time you’ve been working here, but as soon as I look miserable you’re curious?”

“You make it sound like I’m a jackass.”

“I don’t make you sound like anything. You do it on your own,” she snapped right back at him.

“Listen, I didn’t ask for this babysitting job,” he stepped a bit closer to her.

“And I didn’t ask to be babysat!” she tried hard to keep her emotions in check and be that good girl, but she was so frustrated with her father and Oliver everything was spilling out. “Do you think I want to be followed around by grown men all the time?”

Oliver was quiet for a moment. “All I wanted to know was what is bothering you.”

“Everything!” Felicity took a few more steps closer. “You could have picked a better time to try to be a decent human being, but nope this is the perfect time to be nosy.”

“I’m not being nosy!”

“Right because you actually give a damn about me.”

There was about a foot of space between them now. Both breathing heavily. Oliver didn’t say anything and Felicity shook her head.

“The only reason you would care is because it’s your job. Don’t pretend that there’s another,” she watched his face and just sighed. “This is pointless.”

“Felicity,” she started to say, but she stopped him.

“Don’t, Oliver. Just don’t. Go back to standing in your spot and brooding over your terrible job,” she pulled back and started towards her room.

Felicity leaned against the door and slid down to sit on the floor. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wood. She knew she shouldn’t have shouted at him; she could already feel guilt gnawing at her stomach. When would it stop? She was so tired of feeling powerless in her own life.

A knock at her door startled her.

_That was unexpected._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh I finally updated. I swear I had this half written forever, yikes. Thank you for being patient with me and as always I hope y'all enjoy ♥


	5. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m slowly working on updating my old stuff.... i’m not sure how i feel about this fic tho... that’s kinda why i stopped. Worried about the usual... flow and if it makes sense and actually seems like it’s going somewhere... so lemme know what y’all think?

Oliver didn’t understand Felicity at all. One minute she was being the most polite and proper young lady and the next she was shouting in his face. He deserved it, honestly. She didn’t need him, as she put it, brooding over this job he didn’t want when she was equally unhappy with the situation. The way she described it as being followed around by grown men just sounded… disgusting. She was about the same age as his little sister and he couldn’t even imagine this kind of life for Thea.

Shaking his head, he knocked on Felicity’s door. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

He heard a sniffle from the other side of the door, but she didn’t say anything.

“This situation sucks, but I shouldn’t have been an asshole to you,” he put his hands in his pockets and shuffled his foot against the floor.

He hated apologies.

“I still just want to know what’s bothering you.”

Felicity sighed shakily. “It’s complicated.”

“We have all night,” he muttered.

The only way either of them were going to get through this was if they actually talked and treated each other like human beings. Ugh why did he have to be the adult? Well, he was twenty-six, but that was beside the point.

He heard some movement on the other side before the door swung open. Her face was wet with tears, her eyes puffy, and all of that just made him feel worse.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “For yelling at you,” she gave another quiet sniffle.

“Doesn’t matter,” he shrugged.

She was quiet for a moment before motioning him to come into her room. Warily, he walked inside. Her room was pristine, almost sterile. It was missing the warm touches that the rest of her apartment had.

“So?” he asked, sitting down on her bed.

“So, it’s complicated,” she said again, “My dad… he likes things a certain way. If things aren’t the way he thinks they should be then…” she trailed off and shook her head, “Growing up he was a stickler for rules and manners. It’s been really hard to get away from that.”

The way she spoke told him that there was even more behind her words than she was letting on. Damien Darhk was a terrifying man, but he would have thought that he would treat his daughter differently than his men. Maybe he was wrong.

She snapped her mouth shut and shook her head again. “That’s enough,” she pushed herself up.

“Wait,” he reached for her, but she pulled away.

“I don’t talk about these things, Oliver. I just don’t.”

He nodded, “Okay.”

There was a beat of silence between them. He pushed himself up. “Maybe you wanna go for a walk?”

She seemed to think about it for a moment, “Alright.”

They left the apartment and made their way to the street. He wondered about her. Wondered why she chose to open up for just a moment before snapping closed like a clam. She might have been more like an oyster. Closed tight, but he just knew there was a pearl there somewhere. They had got off on the wrong foot, that was for sure, but when Felicity was with her friend she had this brightness to her. She was just this sullen and angry person all the time.

He sucked in a deep breath and watched her and the area around them. It was a fairly quiet afternoon in Starling. Very few people on the sidewalk. Not too many cars driving past them. But it was that, that made Oliver notice something was off.

A car with a window slightly rolled down started in their direction. He saw the barrel of a gun, sliding out the window. There was barely enough time for him to think let alone act. He grabbed onto Felicity’s arm.

“What the hell?” she shouted.

He swung her into an alleyway just as a barrage of bullets started to pelt the building they had just been standing in front of. People ducked and screamed up and down the block. Oliver pressed his body against Felicity’s, keeping her pinned against’ the building’s wall and shielded from the bullets. He was partially covered by trash cans, but it didn’t protect him as well as he hoped. A bullet whizzed through the air. It scraped across his jacket, nicking his skin, and nestling into the wall above Felicity’s head.

“Shit,” he hissed.

When it got quiet, he didn’t waste any time in grabbing onto her again.

“You’re hurt,” she squeaked out.

“I don’t need to be told that,” he muttered.

“You should be going to a hospital.”

“You know I can’t do that. I have to get you home and make a phone call.”

His body was pumping with adrenaline. The only thought in his head was to get Felicity home safe. He didn’t give a crap about his bleeding arm. Oliver didn’t know if that had been an accident or not. How could anyone have known that they were going to be there. Unless they had been watching and waiting? But then why hadn’t they done it when she was with John and Roy? Too many questions. Not enough answers. And he really needed to get Felicity out of danger.

* * *

What the fuck? What the hell? What in God’s name was going on?

This was not the first time Felicity had been put in danger like this, but this was worse than before. The last time… the last time she had been grabbed off the street. They didn’t get very far because of her previous bodyguard, but the fact she had been grabbed at all and hard enough to leave bruises on her delicate skin was what left the bodyguard dead.

She wasn’t hurt this time, but Oliver was. It almost made her feel bad for being snippy again when she was asked about her troubles. There was just too much to talk about. Too much she kept all to herself because…. she was embarrassed? she was hurt? She couldn’t get the words out when it came to talking about her past and especially her father.

Oliver, though, he had protected her without a second thought. She knew it was his job, but he didn’t hesitate to take a bullet for her. He shielded her with his entire body. She had been so scared pressed up against the wall like that. But his warmth enveloped her. The scent of his cologne and his own unique smell invaded her senses. Even as bullets riddled the buildings, she somehow felt safe with him. She knew that he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. 

As he dragged her away from the now crime scene, she followed without hesitation. He kept her close, kept his warm and calloused hand wrapped around her much smaller and more delicate hand, and made sure that she got back to her apartment.

“Get your sewing and first aid kit,” he said when they got inside.

She did as she was told. Her heart was still pounding loudly in her chest. She was still scared, but at least they had made it back. In the living room, she could hear him talking on the phone in Russian. He was reporting to a higher up who would soon be reporting to Damien. This was going to be a pleasure.

As soon as he was done, she reappeared with the things he asked for. She watched him shrug off his leather jacket and roll up the sleeve of his t-shirt. There was a decent amount of blood and it made her kind of queasy. He cleaned himself up and then he started to stitch himself up with her sewing kit.

“Why?” she asked almost in a shout.

“Can’t go to the hospital, so I have to do something,” he continued to stitch his skin together.

“Oh my god,” she looked away from him.

He chuckled, “You would think the daughter of a Mob boss would have a less sensitive stomach.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she crossed her arms.

He let out a soft breath, “Are you okay?” he asked in a serious tone.

Her eyes flicked back to him. “Yes… thanks to you.”

“I was doing my job,” he said, looking up to meet her gaze.

They held each other’s gaze for longer than was probably necessary. She was the first to look away.

Clearing her throat, she added, “Still, thank you.”

“Yeah,” he said quietly.

It was quiet for a few minutes while he finished up. She was starting to calm down, but it was hard to just brush off a run in with…. well, she didn’t know who had been in that car. Her father had so many enemies that anyone could have wanted her dead. She wrapped her arms around herself and let out a shaky breath.

“Your father is on his way,” Oliver said from behind her.

“Awesome,” she sighed.

“He only wants to check on you.”

“I know.”

Neither of them had to wait long for Damien to make his appearance. He practically banged down the door. She swung the door open and he immediately stepped inside. His hands gripped onto her and he carefully looked over her.

“Not a scratch on you?” he asked.

She swallowed, “Not one,” she said, “Oliver saved me.”

Damien looked up to Oliver, who simply nodded.

“I have chosen well,” her father seemed more than pleased with himself.

He let go of her and she took a step back.

“You’re going to be leaving,” he said, standing up straight and fixing his tie.

“What?” she squeaked.

“You are going to a safe house.”

“What about school?” she started to sound frantic. And she was.

“Your safety is more important.”

“But-”

“Felicity,” Damien said in a tone that made her mouth snap shut, “You do not have a choice in the matter.”

He looked to Oliver again. “The both of you will be transported there immediately.”

“Yes, sir,” Oliver muttered.

“I know you are unhappy with me, Princess,” Damien spoke to her again. He cupped her cheeks and kissed her forehead gently. “But you will be fine.”

Fine? How was she going to be fine. Someone that hated her father was trying to kill her. Her school work was going to go down the drain and so was the rest of her life. Maybe she was being dramatic, but it just wasn’t fair.

“Can mom come see me?” she asked.

“Of course,” he kissed the top of her head and pulled away, “She will be there tomorrow. Now, you need to pack and get ready to leave. I love you.”

Felicity sucked in a deep breath. He was looking at her very expectantly. “I love you too.”

He left them after that. Left them standing there. Her feeling like a small child again.

“Felicity,” Oliver started to say.

She shook her head. “Let’s just get my stuff packed. I don’t want to be late.”


End file.
